Former Vice President Joe Biden is yet again going after Bernie Sanders for what he characterized as softness toward the gun manufacturing industry.
Biden said at the Democratic presidential debate in Charleston, South Carolina, on Tuesday night that Sanders' position on gun makers "has caused carnage on our streets."
In response, Sanders said he has "cast thousands of votes, including bad votes. That was a bad vote."
The issue came up after an introductory question that included mention of the 2015 massacre at Mother Emanuel AME Church - just steps from the debate venue - in which nine black Bible study participants were slain during a racist shooting. That mass shooting has given the gun control issue particular resonance in this community.
Sanders, in 2005, supported a proposal backed by the National Rifle Association granting gun manufacturers broad legal protections. He has repeatedly been put on the defensive during the 2020 campaign on his perceived support for the gun manufacturing industry.
In a turn on the issue, Pete Buttigieg also took on Sanders, saying his position on guns wasn't an old one but “is a current bad position that Bernie Sanders holds.”
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